Playground climber



jatented Aug. 1.1,A 195.3

UNITED STATES OFFICEv 1 Claim.

This invention relates to playground apparatus, and more particularly to structures known as climbing apparatus or castles, which are provided in childrens playgrounds so that children may satisfy their desire to climb around on various structures.

There are a large number of various kinds of climbers available, of various sizes and shapes, for installation on childrens playgrounds. These available climbers include devices which are triangular, rectangular and circular in plan view and cubic and pyramidal in elevation. 'IThe known devices are subject to certain objections, such as having to be assembled at the site on the playground, from a completely unassembled condition, which is time-consuming and inelicient. Likewise, various of these other climbers require the provision of 8 or l2 sections of concrete in which various of their legs are set in order to guarantee the stability of the climber. Another objectionable feature of various of the prior art devices is the sharp corners and protuberances with which they are constructed, which tend to increase the danger of injury to the children using the devices. .There is also the further objection that most of these climbers are not readily disassembled and stored during the winter months when, at least in the northern climates, the climbers are not safe for the children due to the temperature of the devices, and the possibility of their being covered with ice and thereby becoming very hazardous.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a playground apparatus or climber which may be fabricated at the place of manufacture, the said fabrication having been carried on to a degree which requires only a small amount of assembly work at the site on the playground.

A further object is to provide a climber which is fabricated in sections for ease of shipping and nal assembly.

Another object is to provide a climber which has no sharp corners or protuberances which might hurt the children using the climber.

Another object is to provide a climber upon which the children may climb while leaning forward on the outside thereof or standing vertically on the inside thereof.

Another object is to provide a climber which can be mounted rigidly on a very small number of ground embedded posts, thereby simplifying the installation and the leveling of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide a climber which is mounted on the minimum number of posts embedded in cement thereby eliminating many of the hazards which develop when the dirt washes away from around the usual concrete sections, upon which construction children may sprain or break their ankles.

A further object is to provide a climber having an igloo type entrance which encourages the children to enter the center of the climber structure and makes the center climbing bars more available to them.

A further object is to provide a reinforcement of the vertical support pipe, at the ground level, which will prevent the usual surface rust and deterioration from weakening the said support pipe.

A further object is to provide a climber so constructed in the uper part thereof as to discourage hanging by the hands or the knees from points near the top of the structure, from which a greater injury could be sustained in case the child should fall.

Further objects of my invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification in connection with the appended claim and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure I is a View in er in its assembled condition, and,

Figure II is a sectional Vview of one of the supporting posts and its associated structure.

In the drawings, it will be seen that the climber l0 is composed, as illustrated, of various separate sections, t-hese being the lower ring I2, the middle ring I4, and the dome I6.

The lower ring I2 is formed with a lower circular rail I8 and an upper circular rail 20, which are spaced apart by the vertical up-rights 22, for most of their circumference. 'Ihe igloo entrance 24 is formed by the arch 2'6 which conn-ects the rails I8 and 20 and projects above the top thereof.

The four tubular up-rights 28 support the rails I8 and 20 through the bridging members 30 while the braces 32 maintain the up-rights 28 in position relative to each other. The concealed-head set-screws 33 are provided in threaded apertures in the up-rights 28, for a purpose as will appear later.

The middle ring I4 is composed of a lower circular rail 34 and an upper circular rail 36 which are vertically spaced by the vertical uprights 38. The rails 34 and 36 are supported from the center tubular up-rights 40 by the bridging members 42, while the braces 44 space the up-rights 40 from each other. IIhe concealed-head set-screws 46 are provided in the up-rghts 40 for a purpose as will appear later.

perspective of the climb- The uprights 40 abut the upper ends of the uprights 28 at the joints 41.

The dome I6 is formed with a lower circular rail 48 and an upper circular rail 50, which are preferably welded to the supporting members 52, which join at a common point and are connected to a itting 54 for rigidity. The lower ends of the supporting members 52 are provided with short sleeves 55 of greater diameter than the members 52, being welded thereto adjacent the lower ends of the members 52. The sleeves 56 are tted with concealed-head set-screws 58 for a purpose as will appear later, and abut the uprights 40 at the joints 59.

Particular reference to Figure II. will show the supporting structure and assembly of this climbing apparatus. The apparatus is supported` by a plurality of support posts 60 which are fitted with an encircling collar 62, preferably welded to the posts 60 at a suitable distance from their lower ends. The posts B are preferably em'- bedded in concrete 64 to a depth such that the collar 62 is exactly at ground level. It will be appreciated that with four posts 60, these posts must be installed fairly accurately as to their horizontal centers, and should be positioned vertically so that the four collars 52 are all on a level, or as close thereto as economically possible.

I-Iaving embedded the support posts 60 in the concrete 54, the assembly of the apparatus is accomplished by placing the bottom ring l2 in position by slipping the tubular up-rights 28 over the tops of the posts 60 and allowing the lower ends of the up-rights 28 to slide down to the ground level and'- engage the collars B2. The lower ring l2 should then be levelled and held' in position by tightening the set-screws 33 so that they engage the sides of. the support postsV 65.

Next the middle ring I4 is placed in position in a similar marmer,y with the tubular 11p-rights 40 being slipped over the support posts' 65 and the set-screws 45 likewise tightened to hold the structureD in'Y the desired position. The dome I6 is then placed in position, by slipping the sleeves 56 over the top ends of thesupport' posts 60. The dome I6 is heldA inA position by tightening the setscrews 53t into the4 sides of the support posts 50.

It wil-l be appreciated that, if the assembly' is properly done, the tubular up-rights' 28 will directly abutA the collars 62,. and1 the lower ends of the up-rights 40 will directly abut the upper ends of the up-rights 28 at the joints 41, and the sleeves 56 will directly abut the uper ends oi' the up-rights 40, at the joints 59.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A sectional playground climber comprising a plurality of vertically stacked sections, each section having integrally fabricated horizontal, vertical and peripheral encompassing members, each o said sections including a vertically spaced pair of said peripheral encompassing members, said vertical members of each section being at least three in number and located inside of said pair of encompassing members and intersecting the planes of said encompassing members and being widely spaced from each other to give stable vertical support to said sections, said horizontal members of each section being substantially disposed in the planes of said encompassing members with some o said horizontal members extending between said encompassing members and each of said vertical members and the remaining horizontal members extending between ad-V jacent said vertical members of each section, said vertical members being tubular, vertical post members having end portions to be received in the ground, abutment structure on said post members' at the upper end of said ground receiving portion, said vertical members of said sections teles'coping with said posts with the lowermost of said sections resting upon said abutments and the next upper of said sections abut#` ting the upper end of said vertical members of said lowermest section and supported thereby, a dome section having vertical portionsy telescoping with the upper end oi said post and abutting with the upper end of the vertical members of the uppermost of said sections, a minor portieriA 'i the encompassing members of said lowerr'nos'ty section defining an arch for' ingress into the interi'or of the structurel dened by said members.-

GORDON W. PACKER.

References Cited' in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name jate 1,901,964 Basken Mar. 211, 193'3 1,929,822 Patterson Oct'. 1U, 1933 2,195,906 Uecker et al s Apr. 2, 1949 2,351,614 nougan et' ai. oct. 31', 1944' 2,462,429 Sachs Feb. 22, 1949` 

